The Railways of Merton

by Lionel Green

In The Railways of Merton Lionel Green sorts out the tangle of the Borough of Merton’s railways. He gives dates, names of companies, and which later amalgamated with what. The book includes a very clear map and illustrations.

The RailwaysThe Railways

ISBN 1 903899 10 9

Published by Merton Historical Society – September 1998

Further information on Merton Historical Society can be obtained from the
Society’s website at www.mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk , or from MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1998
Merton Library & Heritage Service, Merton Civic Centre, London Road,
Morden, Surrey. SM4 5DX

Author’s Preface

The method adopted has been to recount all proposed railway schemes
chronologically until the formation of the two main railway companies
(LSW and LBSC). Thereafter, only successful projects have been
included. Lionel Green

List of Railway Companies and Abbreviations:

C&SL City and South London

K&L Kingston and London

L&B London and Brighton

L&C London and Croydon

L&M London and Manchester

L&S London and Southampton

LBSC London Brighton & South Coast

LC&D London Chatham and Dover

LSW London & South Western

M-E Morden – Edgware

SE South East

SE&C South Eastern & Chatham

SIR Surrey Iron Railway

SR Southern Railway

TM&W Tooting Merton and Wimbledon

W&C Wimbledon and Croydon

W&D Wimbledon and Dorking

WLE West London Extension

WM&WM Wimbledon Merton and West Metropolitan

Cover Photo: Last through train from Wimbledon to Ludgate Hill,
Merton Park 2/3/29 copyright H C Casserley (ref 5638)

The building on the right was the Rutlish School Science block
which was destroyed by a flying bomb in October 1944

13 I. Nairn and N. Pevsner – The Buildings of England – Surrey – 1971 – 2nd.
Edn. p. 371.

14 John Innes (see page 29) objected to the name of ‘Lower Merton’ with its
hint of an inferior situation and persuaded the railway company to change
the name. On 1 September 1887 it was changed to Merton Park, fitting in
with John Innes’s desire for a park with roads shaded by forest trees.

15 Trains where the engine did not run round at terminals but remained at one
end, regardless of direction of running.

16 Opened as ‘Old Malden and Worcester Park’ and renamed February 1862.

17 First opened as ‘Hayden’s Lane’ but renamed ‘Haydons Road’ from 1 October
1889.

18 For tracing the changes in layout of Wimbledon station see Railway World

– January 1961, for an article by Geoffrey Wilson with plans.
19 Train Operating Council (T.O.C.) Minute 3947 1 October 1923.
20 The fourth rail on the District line is normally an insulated negative return
whereas on the former LSW system, an earth return through the running
rails is used. In order that all trains can use the section from East Putney to
Wimbledon, the centre (fourth) rail is not an insulated return but merely
provides contact with the negative shoes of District trains. It is therefore
bonded to the running rails to form a return circuit. At Putney Bridge
special resistances protect the differing systems as well as a train length
section gap.

21 This was not a new idea. Between 1854 and 1867 the LNWR issued free
season tickets (house passes) to potential house builders. The aim was to
increase the demand for coal and consumer goods along new routes as well
as family travel.

22 Ludgate Hill was closed from 3 March 1929 as it could not accommodate
the eight coaches of multiple unit stock.

23 C.F. Klapper – Sir Herbert Walker’s S.R. – 1973 – p. 190.

24 Wimbledon and Merton Annual – 1905 – p. 114.

25 The names of all the stations were agreed at T.O.C. (Min. 6281) – 1 October
1928.

26 This was a re-used bridge from near Margate.

27 Operated on ‘one engine in steam’ arrangements – probably the first instance
of working without a steam engine.

28 C.G. Dobson – A Century and a Quarter – 1951 – p. 121.

29 It is beyond the scope of the present booklet to relate wartime incidents of

the railways but on the first local air raid at 5.35pm 16 August 1940, the
South Wimbledon substation was put out of action. Trains, however, were
suspended for only two hours.

Notes and References

2 Charles E. Lee -Early Railways in Surrey – 1944 – p. 10.

3 B. Morgan – Railways – Civil Engineering – 1973 – p. 19; the gauge was
determined by W.G. Tharby – Railway Magazine No. 113 – (1967) p. 465.

4 W.G. Tharby – Surrey County Magazine – July 1975 p. 101.

5 James Malcolm -A Compendium of Modern Husbandry … of Surrey 1805
– Vol I p. 25.

6 R.A. Williams – The London and South Western Railway – 1968 – Vol. I
p. 22.

7 Eventually all railways adopted London time so that standard time
measurement became known as ‘Railway Time’ and the joint action of
railway companies prevailed upon the Government to establish an official
standard time. This was done by statute in 1880 when Greenwich Mean
Time was adopted.

8 W.E. Gladstone (as President of the Board of Trade) introduced a Bill in
1844 which required railways to run a train on all lines, calling at all stations
at least once a day with carriages which were protected from the weather
and with seats (Railway Regulating Act – 9 August 1844). These were
known as ‘parliamentary trains’.

9 London and South Western Gazette – July 1890. He was Charles S. Loveless
(1829-1893) who married Eliza Smith, daughter of Thomas the coppersmith
at Wimbledon in 1856.

10 R.A. Williams – The London and South Western Railway – 1968 – Vol. I
p. 227.

11 George Parker Bidder, the railway engineer, came from Devon and achieved
early fame as the ‘Calculating Boy’ answering at sight all sorts of difficult
arithmetical questions. At the age of 28 he worked for Robert Stephenson
and became a leading civil engineer. He lived at Mitcham Hall before moving
to Ravensbury Park, a house he had built off Bishopsford Road, Morden.
His son, George Parker Bidder Q.C. is remembered for preserving Mitcham
Common for public use, and Col. H.F. Bidder, grandson of the engineer,
undertook archaeological work in the borough at the Anglo-Saxon cemetery
at Mitcham (1891-1922) and Merton Priory (1921).

12 The station was originally called Beddington but that community complained
that the station was two miles away. In January 1887 it was renamed
Beddington Lane, and Waddon was renamed ‘Waddon for Beddington and
Bandon Hill’. Waddon Marsh was not opened until 6 July 1930.

Introduction

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the rolling resistance of a cart
could be reduced if its wheels were contained on well aligned rails, with a
flange to afford guidance. Early in the 17th century several coalfields in
north-east England laid wooden rails to move loaded wagons from the
coal face. The gauge was dependent on the width of carts currently in use
in each locality, usually between four and five feet. Many other mineral
railways were built thereafter in many parts of the country except in the
south. Under the Highways Act 1773 (13 Geo. III cap. 84 sect. 12),
vehicles using public roads were restricted to a width of 4 feet 6 inches
and from that date no plateway (i.e. iron plated railway) exceeded this
gauge.

‘The first public railway’

In 1799 various schemes were proposed to transport military supplies
between London and Portsmouth during the Napoleonic Wars thus avoiding
the French privateers who were harassing ships on passage to and from
London. William Jessop was asked to examine the possibilities of building
either a canal or a horse drawn railway. Supporters of the canal asked
Jessop to survey the first stage between Wandsworth and Croydon but his
report (9 December 1799) concluded that the scheme was impracticable.
The route would have to be close to the river Wandle for most of the way
and the canal would rob the river of a great part of the water supply
bringing complaints from the thirty mills and factories who depended for
power from waterwheels. John Rennie agreed with Jessop’s conclusion.

At the same time Jessop surveyed the route for a railway from London to
Portsmouth via Croydon and estimated it would cost £400,000.1 The
benefit of a railway over a canal was not a foregone conclusion as the
canals could easily hold their own against competition from the horse
drawn railways. One horse on a towpath could haul a greater tonnage in
a barge than in wagons on the best laid railway. The two forms were in
fact very compatible, with the railway excelling in short distances able to
overcome or use gradients, and the barge travelling long cross-country
journeys without having to trans-ship goods. When parliamentary sanction
was obtained for building canals, discretion was readily given to proprietors
to construct railways as feeder routes.

The first section of the railway from Wandsworth to Croydon was
incorporated in the Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) Bill submitted to
Parliament on 27 February 1801, which received the Royal Assent on
21 May (41 Geo. III cap. 33). Two amendments had been added by the
House of Lords, one stipulating ‘that where the said Iron Railway shall
cross any Turnpike roads or public highways, the ledge or flanch of the
rail for the purpose of guiding the wheels of the carriages, shall not
exceed one inch in height above the level of the road’. The other clause
prevented the branch line to the calico printing manufactory of Richard
Howard (near Phipps Bridge) being extended further. The reason for
this clause is unknown. Mr. Howard was one of several local
shareholders, and an extension would have assisted the Ravensbury
print works. The line was to have a road bed for a double track of 18
feet, unfenced. The Act stated that land to be taken should not exceed
twenty yards in breadth ‘except in those places where it shall be judged
necessary for waggons or other carriages to turn, lie or pass each other,
or where any warehouse, crane or weighbeam may be erected or where
any place may be used for the reception or delivery of goods …..’ In
these instances no more than sixty yards in breadth could be taken without
the consent of the owners of land adjoining. Lords of manors and
landowners on the railway could, and if deemed necessary were obliged
to, erect warehouses, in default of which the railway was empowered to
construct and charge rent on goods lodged therein.
The first section of the railway from Wandsworth to Croydon was
incorporated in the Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) Bill submitted to
Parliament on 27 February 1801, which received the Royal Assent on
21 May (41 Geo. III cap. 33). Two amendments had been added by the
House of Lords, one stipulating ‘that where the said Iron Railway shall
cross any Turnpike roads or public highways, the ledge or flanch of the
rail for the purpose of guiding the wheels of the carriages, shall not
exceed one inch in height above the level of the road’. The other clause
prevented the branch line to the calico printing manufactory of Richard
Howard (near Phipps Bridge) being extended further. The reason for
this clause is unknown. Mr. Howard was one of several local
shareholders, and an extension would have assisted the Ravensbury
print works. The line was to have a road bed for a double track of 18
feet, unfenced. The Act stated that land to be taken should not exceed
twenty yards in breadth ‘except in those places where it shall be judged
necessary for waggons or other carriages to turn, lie or pass each other,
or where any warehouse, crane or weighbeam may be erected or where
any place may be used for the reception or delivery of goods …..’ In
these instances no more than sixty yards in breadth could be taken without
the consent of the owners of land adjoining. Lords of manors and
landowners on the railway could, and if deemed necessary were obliged
to, erect warehouses, in default of which the railway was empowered to
construct and charge rent on goods lodged therein.

A meeting of the new company was held on 4 June 1801 with John
Hilbert presiding. He was a prominent resident of Wandsworth and at
the time was completing the purchase of the lordship of the manor of
Merton. At the meeting, Jessop’s appointment as engineer was confirmed
and George Leather was engaged as resident engineer.

The authorised capital for the SIR was £50,000 but construction costs
exceeded this and a further £10,000 was authorised by Parliament on
12 March 1805 (45 Geo. III cap. 5). The total length was just over nine
miles, and the line opened on 26 July 1803. A single track branch line
was also constructed from Mitcham to Carshalton (Hackbridge). This
was one and a half miles in length and was opened by June 1804.

responsible directly to the Ministry (now Department) of Transport from
1 January 1963. Under the Transport (London) Act of 1969, all came
under the control of the Greater London Council from 1 January 1970
through a new London Transport Executive, until the demise of the GLC
in 1986.

Recent changes

During 1996 the Government disposed of parts of the railway system as
franchises for private companies to operate services which in one respect
(freight trains) recalls the operation of the SIR in 1803. The infrastructure
(track, signalling, bridges, etc.) is owned by Railtrack which was set up
on 1 April 1994 and the Train Operating Companies pay to use the facilities.
These also reflect the pre-1923 companies, with the LBSC passenger
services mostly operated by Connex South Central, and the LSW by South
West Trains (Stage Coach Holdings). The Wimbledon to Sutton line
together with the upper loop to Tooting is operated by Thameslink. The
Wimbledon to Croydon service closed on 31 May 1997 and is to be replaced
by the Croydon Tramlink system before the next century.

The story of Merton’s railways has no ending but often repeats itself. It
began with a tramway which became a railway. That line now awaits
transformation back to a tramway where much of the route between
Mitcham and Waddon will follow the same alignment as the original.

West Croydon/Wimbledon – last days of steam – electrified 6/7/1930
(postcard by Pamlin Prints © 1969) (ref M82)

‘bulls eye’ in the centre. A canopy of reinforced concrete suitable for
subsequent commercial development flanked the central feature.
Overbuilding was done successfully at Morden in 1964. Traction current
was supplied from Lots Road power station (at 550 V dc) and the Morden
extension was the first railway to have an unattended electricity substation.
A manned unit at South Wimbledon controlled Balham.
‘bulls eye’ in the centre. A canopy of reinforced concrete suitable for
subsequent commercial development flanked the central feature.
Overbuilding was done successfully at Morden in 1964. Traction current
was supplied from Lots Road power station (at 550 V dc) and the Morden
extension was the first railway to have an unattended electricity substation.
A manned unit at South Wimbledon controlled Balham.

The new service commenced at 3.00 p.m. on 13 September 1926 following
the official ceremony attended by 400 guests. Everyone was allowed to
travel free until just after midnight and 35,000 took advantage of this
offer. The name chosen for the extended tube was the Morden – Edgware
Line and it became part of what was then the longest railway tunnel in the
world, 16 miles 1,100 yards (26.76 km.) from Morden to Golders Green
(via Bank). On 28 August 1937 the name was changed to the Northern
Line and on 3 July 1939 a tube extension between Archway (Highgate)
and East Finchley on the other northern branch increased the length of the
continuous tunnel to 17 miles 528 yards (27.84 km.).

The Morden extension was a success from the first, and within two years,
it was necessary to employ double deck (‘General’ open top) buses to
convey the hundreds of rush hour passengers emerging from each train
(33 trains per hour) to their newly-built homes at Worcester Park, Cheam,
Sutton, Carshalton and Wallington. Other buses brought traffic from
Ewell, Epsom, Banstead and Burgh Heath. A new type of rolling stock
was introduced for the extension, with improved ventilation and sound
proofing for the benefit of passengers making the comparatively long
underground journeys.

The red painted carriages were a familiar part of the underground railway
scene and performed sterling service for 40 years. Silver units (unpainted
aluminium) were introduced in April 1978.

On 13 April 1933 an Act was passed which formed the London Passenger
Transport Board (LPTB) and the Underground railways, together with
the bus companies, came under one control from 1 July. On 1 January
1948 all railways were nationalised and London Transport became one of
the five executives of the British Transport Commission. Further changes
were authorised in 1962 and the Underground Railways then became part
of the London Transport Board, an independent statutory authority

As work was progressing on constructing the railway through Merton,
a new resident arrived on 23 October 1801 to occupy his only English
home close by. He too was averting Napoleonic threats, but in a different
way, and two years after the opening of the railway, succeeded gloriously,
at Trafalgar. Nelson’s victory removed the urgency for a railway to
Portsmouth.

Surrey Iron Railway – a description

The rails consisted of cast iron plateways of angle-sections with a raised
flange, each about 3 ft. 2 in. in length resting on stone sleeper blocks
measuring approximately 16 inches square. Each rail end had prepared
notches for headless spikes which were driven into wooden plugs fixed
into each block. It may be assumed that the rails were supplied from
Jessop’s Butterley Works, Derbyshire, which was established in 1790
by Jessop, Outram, Wright and Beresford. The original rails proved
too weak and a heavier section was adopted when repairing. This had
an extra flange projecting downwards from the outer edge, deepening
between points of support to give strength to the weakest part.

The gauge was 4 ft. 2 in. which followed that in use on the colliery
railways of South Wales.3 The four inch tread on the plateway enabled
wagons to be accommodated with wheels up to 4 ft. 6 in. apart. The
horses drawing the wagons walked between the rails where the ballast
had been tamped hard, which ensured an absence of loose stones for the
horse to kick onto the rail. At level crossings packing was laid to reduce
the obstruction of the flange which in those locations was only one inch
high. Merton Road, now High Street, Colliers Wood, was crossed on
the level with the gates normally closed to rail traffic. The gatekeeper’s
cottage existed until 1964.4

At certain distances there were cross-over points – ‘a method of letting
the waggons pass from one road to the other by a short diagonal railway,
and by throwing or forcing aside a bar of iron moving on a pivot, which
enables them to move in and out with the greatest facility’.5 At points
of access were turn(table) plates.

Surrey Iron Railway

Toll Sheet
60 cm x 44 cm
Science Museum

The main lines up until then did not fear any competition from tube railways
assuming that they would only operate for short journeys within cities.
Sam Fay who became LSW Superintendent of the Line from 1899 to
1902 is reported as saying that he could not see anyone travelling to town
‘through a sewer’.

On 1 January 1913 the C&SL was incorporated into the London
Underground Group which reconstructed the line (1922-1924) with a
standard 11 ft. 8¼ in. diameter tube to Clapham Common. Then followed
an ambitious scheme to run trains through to Sutton (see above). After
agreement with the SR, the extended line was to terminate at Morden.
The sidings took the line almost up to the Wimbledon and Sutton (SR)
line but with no connection. Finance for the extension was guaranteed by
the Government under the Trade Facilities Act of 1922 and work
commenced at Clapham on 31 December 1923 and continued in appalling
weather. Cement, blue lias lime and aggregates were supplied by Hall
and Co. Ltd. at various points between Tooting Broadway and Morden,
using the same vehicles to remove excavated clay. This was difficult in
wet weather because of the nature of the clay and the fact that workers
underground could work regardless of the weather. Surface cartage had
to continue night and day on occasions and in order to anticipate
requirements, Messrs. Negretti and Zambra supplied daily weather
forecasts.28 Some of the clay was used to fill Hall & Co.’s disused gravel
pits at Mitcham. Other local carters were involved in the disposal of the
clay which was spread on the fields beside the Wandle (Liberty’s sports
field and Phipps Bridge estate). The sand pit in Morden Hall Park was
also filled, this being assisted with buckets on overhead wires from the
tube entrance beside Dorset Road. The old brick works pit in Green Lane
(Martin Way) was also filled in this way, later becoming Mostyn Gardens.

The railway was wholly tube construction except for the section under
Kendor Gardens and Kenley Road car park where a ‘cut and cover’ system
was used. It had been intended that this section should be in the open but
the presence of water near the surface caused a change of plan.

A feature of the new stations designed by Charles Holden (including
Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon and Morden) was a single adaptable
elevation in Portland stone with a large window bearing the Underground

stations were built to a standard design of 520 ft. island platform suitable
for eight-coach electric trains. An additional station was provided at the
request of the LCC who were embarking on a scheme for 9,068 dwellings
forming the St Helier Estate to house 40,000 people. This estate of 825
acres was built in sections between 1928 and 1936. The name
commemorates Lady St Helier, an alderman from 1910 until 1927, who
died in 1931. Because of the nearness of the tube railway at Morden,
little traffic came to the new station. The only freight facilities on the
line were provided at St Helier. These gave good service for many years
but were withdrawn from 6 May 1963. A private siding existed from
1954 until 1978 at Morden South for Express Dairy milk traffic from
the West Country.

Morden Tube Railway (1926)

The tube line to Morden originated as the City of London and Southwark
Subway Company which opened with 3¼ miles of tube railway from
King William Street to Stockwell. Services began on 4 November 1890
but the public opening was not until 18 December. The railway was
contained in tubes with an internal diameter of 10 ft. 2 in. Two tunnels
were driven through the London clay with a shield and lined with cast
iron segments using a method devised by Peter Barlow (d. 1885) and
developed by James Greathead (d. 1896). From the beginning it operated
with electric traction and thus became the first electric tube railway.
Powers to extend the line to Clapham Common were obtained in 1890
and the name was changed to the City and South London Railway (C&SL)
opening on 3 June 1900.

Unlike all previous railway projects, the SIR was not an adjunct to a
particular manufacturing concern but a transport enterprise in its own
right. The authorising Act gave power to construct the railway – not to
operate it. The SIR was a toll company i.e. empowered to collect dues
from wagon owners for the use of the railway in the same way as
Turnpike Trusts. Users provided their own rolling stock and paid
relevant tolls for the commodity, weight and distance. Train loads usually
consisted of five wagons drawn by a horse or large mule at an average
speed of 3 m.p.h. Carriers could join the railway at certain locations
with their own horses and wagons already loaded without trans-shipping

-although there is evidence that regular customers kept their own wagons
for railway use only. Company stables were provided at the access
points. The SIR was never a flourishing investment and shareholders
were paid only about 1% in dividends, the last being paid in 1825.
Following the success of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway and
the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (both opened in 1830), the
locomotive was firmly established as the most suitable motive power
for railways and horse power ceased to be of consequence.

In 1838 the Croydon to Merstham extension of the SIR was closed in
order to provide a route for the London and Brighton Railway (L&B).
The remaining SIR could not compete with the faster goods trains of
the London and Southampton Railway (L&S) and the London and
Croydon Railway (L&C) opened in 1838 and 1839 respectively, and
traffic further declined. Finally in 1844 the L&S and L&B jointly
arranged to purchase the line for £19,000. This was never completed
by the L&S and the L&B was left to complete purchase on its own.
The Act of Dissolution was not sought until 1846 and the railway
officially closed on 31 August 1846.

No trace is visible in the borough today, but the two sections of Tramway
Path, close to Mitcham Station, and beyond Willow Lane towards The
Goat, keep its memory alive.

London and Southampton via Wimbledon (1838)

The original surveyor was Francis Giles who intended to build the line
through Wimbledon close to the village on the hill, but Lord Cottenham
had recently purchased a large area of the land west of the village and
wished to retain his privacy. Kingston coach operators also opposed the
railway approaching the town and obliged the railway to cut through
Surbiton Hill. Because of this southerly diversion the proposed station
was in the fields midway between Wimbledon and Merton and was so
named for many years. The deposited plans show the route crossing
Wandsworth Common and the river Wandle, passing the south side of
Lord Spencer’s Wimbledon Park and ‘afterwards through the low lands’.
The railway enters and leaves the borough on a 25 foot high embankment
but is on the level in between. When first constructed there was a level
crossing for Merton Road (now Durnsford Road). Just north of
Summerstown the line passed over the SIR beside Garratt Lane on an
arch 15½ feet high and 22 feet wide. When work commenced in October
1834, Robert Stannard, one of the contractors, was ready to make a start
at the terminus at Battersea but Giles directed him to Wimbledon, Kingston
and Merton where it was cheaper to hire labourers.6 The method Giles
used was to engage many small contractors concurrently at various
locations but this meant that the easier parts of each section were completed
and payment demanded before tackling the difficult parts. This caused
‘cash flow’ problems leading to increased costs, for when fresh contractors
were engaged they sought higher payments. Progress down the line was
hampered by the severe winter of 1836/7.

with the proposed Sutton line); the District Railway would have running
powers over the Sutton line; and the Southern Railway agreed to restore
the passenger service on the Wimbledon, Tooting and Streatham line.
The SR subsequently named their station Morden South,25 much to the
confusion of map makers of the 1930s. A suitable Bill was quickly
passed through Parliament but with further changes. The District
Railway had lost interest in running trains through to Sutton and instead
of the connection with District Line platforms at Wimbledon, the Sutton
trains would use the former LBSC platforms on the south side. The
Act of 1924 also transferred promotion and powers to the Southern
Railway. The estimated cost was £220,000 for land purchase and
£822,000 for works and equipment. There were further delays while
property was acquired and demolished and Board authority to commence
work was passed on 30 June 1927. It was typical of Herbert Walker to
save time and money wherever possible by using his own engineers’
men for the first mile and a half. Work commenced from the Wimbledon
end in October 1927 under the supervision of the Chief Engineer, Mr.

G. Ellson. Heavy engineering work was involved throughout the length
of the new line with 24 over/under bridges and embankments to avoid
level crossings and tunnels.
Within the Merton Borough are eight long steel girder under bridges
(many skew) with concrete floors – Toynbee Road (48 ft. 6 in.); The
Chase (42 ft.); Kingston Road (80 ft.); Whatley Avenue (52 ft.); Cannon
Hill Lane (55 ft.); Hillcross Avenue26 (57 ft. 8 in.); Epsom Road (120
ft.); and Love Lane. A contract was let to Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons
to construct the portion from South Merton to Sutton. Some of the
chalk surplus of over 500,000 tons from cuttings near Sutton was used
in the embankments to the north as well as forming road overbridges
such as the Martin Way ‘hill’ by South Merton station. Clay excavations
were dumped near Morden South station. The electric service from
Holborn Viaduct to Wimbledon via Tooting and Haydons Road was
extended to Wimbledon Chase and South Merton from 7 July 1929 as a
single track ‘train staff controlled’ portion27 from a temporary crossover
near Toynbee Road bridge. From 17 December (after 3 days of trial
running) further double track was available and whilst South Merton
was still the terminus, trains ran on empty to St Helier to reverse. The

the existing line by the provision of two further tracks between Putney
Bridge and Wimbledon. This was authorised on 7 August 1912 although
the work was never carried out. Towards the end of 1913 a new platform
for the District Line trains was constructed on the north side of
Wimbledon station but, with the delays, it was necessary to renew
previous authorities and to increase the authorised capital to £550,000.
This Act was obtained in 1913 but work on the railway had not
commenced at the outbreak of war in August 1914. The ending of
World War I brought further problems, including unemployment, and
use was made of the Trade Facilities Act 1921 to obtain a Treasury
guarantee to complete construction of the line. The prime mover was
now the Underground Railway Company and in November 1922 they
applied for powers to fulfil a comprehensive scheme costing £5 million.
Besides constructing the Wimbledon to Sutton line, they wished to
modernise and improve some of the existing underground facilities, and
to extend the City and South London (C&SL) tube from Clapham
Common to Tooting, Merton, Morden and connecting with their proposed
surface line to Sutton.
which
pleased no one. The new Southern Group was blamed for the
failure and hasty negotiations took place in July 1923 when Sir Herbert
met Lord Ashfield and they agreed on a revised scheme. The SR was to
build the Wimbledon and Sutton railway; they would not oppose the
extension of the C&SL to Morden with a terminus at ‘North Morden’; a
carriage depot would be constructed south of the terminus but there
would be no connection with the Wimbledon and Sutton Line (the early
plans for the tube extension had referred to a junction at South Morden

The shares in the L&S dropped on the stock market which alarmed the
shareholders and the ‘Liverpool Parties’ from the north demanded that
the board engage another engineer to examine Giles’s amended estimates
for completing the line. The directors agreed and engaged Joseph Locke
whereupon Giles resigned in January 1837 and, with Locke’s
appointment as engineer, the small contractors at the London end were
dismissed and Thomas Brassey with his army of workmen engaged.
John Strapp was the assistant responsible for the section through
Wimbledon and Merton.

On 12th and 19th May 1838, private experimental trips were made
from Nine Elms to Woking and back, and on 21st May the line was
open to the public. At first no goods trains were run and consequently
no third class passengers (for at that time they travelled in open trucks
attached to goods trains). In June 1839 the company changed its name
to the London and South Western Railway (LSW), and in 1848 a new
London terminus was built and named Waterloo.

Train travel in 1845

At its inception the L&S ran five stopping trains each day between
Woking and Nine Elms but when the line opened throughout from
Southampton in May 1840 this was increased to eight up and seven
down stopping trains. The eighth train ran down empty. The fare from
Wimbledon to Nine Elms was 1/6d and 1/- depending on class and the
journey time was 18 to 20 minutes. A note appeared on the published
timetable that London time would be observed throughout. This is a
timely reminder that it was only with the coming of the railways that it
was found necessary to standardise timekeeping throughout the country.
Hitherto each community went by the church or municipal clock.
Mitcham time was Mitcham time right or wrong and no one in Mitcham
took any notice of the hours being struck by Morden church.7

Having selected the train, passengers had to arrive in good time to book
a ticket and allow for time variations. Until 1845 the booking clerk
issued a paper ticket over an open counter and the name of the destination
was inserted by hand. The Edmondson card ticket was first introduced
by the LSW in 1845 and became one of the most widely used railway
tickets in Britain until 1988. All intending passengers were handed a

bill of ‘directions and conditions’. Smoking was not allowed in stations,
on platforms or in any carriage. Even on receipt of the ticket a passenger
could only board the train if there was room. No passenger was allowed
to open a carriage door without assistance from the staff. Platforms
were much lower than today, only 1 ft. 9 in. above rail level, necessitating
a lower mounting step on all carriages. A hand bell was rung at least
half a minute before the departure of the train and the guard had then to
ensure that all passengers were seated, and all doors fastened. He then
showed a white flag or lamp to the engineman (red was danger, green
meant caution and white was for ‘all clear ahead’). The four-wheeled
carriages contained three compartments, and, in composite coaches,
the central first class compartment had better furnishings than the
flanking second class compartments over the wheels. The vehicles were
oak framed with pine panelling with fixed ‘dumb’ buffers, of padded
leather but without springing. In 1844 the LSW began to cover the
third class open trucks with a roof, fitting three compartments with
five-a-side seating.
bill of ‘directions and conditions’. Smoking was not allowed in stations,
on platforms or in any carriage. Even on receipt of the ticket a passenger
could only board the train if there was room. No passenger was allowed
to open a carriage door without assistance from the staff. Platforms
were much lower than today, only 1 ft. 9 in. above rail level, necessitating
a lower mounting step on all carriages. A hand bell was rung at least
half a minute before the departure of the train and the guard had then to
ensure that all passengers were seated, and all doors fastened. He then
showed a white flag or lamp to the engineman (red was danger, green
meant caution and white was for ‘all clear ahead’). The four-wheeled
carriages contained three compartments, and, in composite coaches,
the central first class compartment had better furnishings than the
flanking second class compartments over the wheels. The vehicles were
oak framed with pine panelling with fixed ‘dumb’ buffers, of padded
leather but without springing. In 1844 the LSW began to cover the
third class open trucks with a roof, fitting three compartments with
five-a-side seating. All carriages were non-smokers until 1868 with
no inside door handle provided until about 1900.

The Railway ‘Servants’

Numbered with the staff were policemen who acted as watchmen,
signalmen, and even ticket collectors. The police/pointsmen wore tall
hats with leather crowns, chocolate coloured coats and dark trousers.
The early trains relied on strict timekeeping for train safety, and each
station possessed a clock. Soon after 1840, rotating discs were set up
on the LSW main line and when aligned edge-on to the driver (i.e.
virtually invisible), the line was clear. From 1841 guards wore a scarlet
frock coat with lace collars and silver buttons; first class guards wore a
belt in addition.

The author’s great-grandfather joined the LSW in 1852 and has recorded
some early memories of his days as a guard.9 “In September 1858 I
was made a guard and my first trip was with the Necropolis train to
Brookwood. I had to take my seat on the roof of a composite carriage
(1st and 2nd class) used as a brake …. in those days we had another
brake commonly called a ‘booby hutch’ (only having an opening on one
side) and on one journey we had to cross the coupling to reach the

Wimbledon from 1889 John Innes considered that they might extend
their service to the parishes south of Wimbledon. He found that the
LSW preferred to strengthen their monopoly at Wimbledon rather than
risk opening up new areas which had a sparse population at that time.
With the failure of the 1891 scheme John Innes thereafter used his
energies until his death in 1904 to secure a quicker access from Merton
to the West End as well as the City.

In 1908 a further attempt for a Wimbledon and Sutton railway was
made but no Bill was presented to Parliament. A year later, a group of
landowners met in December, in Merton, and a Bill was progressed for
a railway with ten stations. The District Line Railway expressed an
interest in operating the proposed line without supporting the venture
financially. The LSW opposed the scheme because the District Line
Railway trains would have to cross their main line at Wimbledon and
be ‘working electrically’; they also considered that the District Line
Railway services were already overloaded. The LBSC also opposed
because it would reduce their traffic from Sutton to London and they
attempted to prove that their planned electrified services would be quicker
than the promoters’ estimate of 32 minutes to London. Royal Assent
was given on 26 July 1910 with powers for the District Railway to
operate over an end-on junction at Wimbledon station, passing under
Wimbledon Hill Road and serving the All England Tennis Ground, then
in Worple Road (with a station). The railway was then to pass under
the main line towards Broadwater Farm at the north end of Cannon Hill
Lane. This was to be ‘Cannon Hill Station’, and the line would proceed
to Merton Park, Morden village and Elm Farm. The estate of St Helier
was not envisaged at this time.

Because of the refusal by the LSW and LBSC to support the scheme,
the promoters were short of capital and they approached the District
Railway in March 1911. After negotiation an arrangement was made
whereby the landowners would find £6,000 a year for ten years and the
District Railway was to find the balance of the money to build the line.
This was accepted in October 1911 but within a year the landowners
had sold their interest to nominees of the Underground Railways (owners
of the District Railway). Accepting the situation, the LSW joined with
the District in preparing a Parliamentary Bill to increase the capacity of

Morden Station and forecourt in June 1927

Mitcham Junction Station c.1905 (post card by R J Johns)
(London Regional Transport) “for Mitcham, Morden & Wimbledon”

platform. Luggage for main line trains had to be loaded on the roof and
tied down with tarpaulins. Parcels were put in lockers underneath the
seats of the carriages (and) a parcel or two often went beyond its
destination… We have to thank our officials and ‘The Times’ for
providing us with such vans as we have now (1890), for they are a
luxury to those in use (in 1858)”. The last remark refers to improvements
which followed an accident on the LSW near Wimbledon. In May
1858 a guard named Baker was killed when he fell from his roof seat.
Hitherto brake blocks were held on the wheels with a connecting rod
running up to the guard’s roof seat. The coroner’s jury recommended
that brakes should be operated from inside the coach and the Board of
Trade responded to public criticisms and adopted the recommendation.
platform. Luggage for main line trains had to be loaded on the roof and
tied down with tarpaulins. Parcels were put in lockers underneath the
seats of the carriages (and) a parcel or two often went beyond its
destination… We have to thank our officials and ‘The Times’ for
providing us with such vans as we have now (1890), for they are a
luxury to those in use (in 1858)”. The last remark refers to improvements
which followed an accident on the LSW near Wimbledon. In May
1858 a guard named Baker was killed when he fell from his roof seat.
Hitherto brake blocks were held on the wheels with a connecting rod
running up to the guard’s roof seat. The coroner’s jury recommended
that brakes should be operated from inside the coach and the Board of
Trade responded to public criticisms and adopted the recommendation.

Wimbledon and Croydon Railway (1855)

A prospectus for a railway from Wandsworth to Mitcham and on to
Croydon was published in September 1852, the estimates being prepared
by one of the promoters, George Parker Bidder.11 At first both the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSC) and LSW objected
to the scheme but the line became a pawn in a bigger dispute between
the rival companies. The LSW supported a line from Wimbledon to
Croydon, whereupon the LBSC agreed with the promoters (and
subsequently the LSW Board) that such a line should be a joint
undertaking, with the line from Wimbledon to Mitcham leased to the
LSW for £1500 per year, and the portion between Mitcham and Croydon
leased to the LBSC for £820. The original Bill was withdrawn and the
Wimbledon and Croydon Railway Act was passed on 8 July 1853 with
an authorised capital of £45,500. Before the line could be built it was
necessary to repurchase some of the land of the former SIR which had
been sold off in 1847. Engineering work started in 1854 utilising parts
of the old trackbed across Mitcham Common. The Act gave authority
for the line to cross seven highways on the level but a station or lodge
had to be provided at each public road crossing. The Board of Trade
then insisted that where turnpike roads were crossed, a bridge had to be
constructed (i.e. Morden Road and London Road, Mitcham; but this
excluded Kingston Road, Merton).

The LSW had to withdraw from the scheme as the shareholders refused

were made up into two-car sets with a motor fitted in one end and a
regulator control in the other. There was no communication between
the coaches but they had an open side-corridor which facilitated bell
punch ticket issuing on the train by the guard, and the stock continued
to run until September 1954. The familiar ‘2’ headcode since inception
was changed to ‘1’ from 8 May 1978. Because of the limitations of
single line working for most of the route from Merton Park, close
headways were not possible and to add to the problems there are three
level crossings in the borough, at Dundonald Road, Kingston Road,
and Beddington Lane.

An accommodation crossing gave access to the old Rutlish School Sports
field from Dorset Road and throughout the 1930s had to be specially
opened each Thursday in school term times to allow the OTC contingent
and band to march over and return later. A public footpath had to be
accommodated in the building of Beddington Lane station.

Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (1929)

In 1865 John Innes, a City property developer, arrived in Merton with a
desire to create a suburb of villas set beside tree-lined roads. The pattern
of life in the country and in London was changing. No longer were
craftsmen living in London with a workshop at the back. New firms
were being set up with the managers and clerks travelling on horsebus
or by steam train from homes in the inner suburbs. To take advantage
of these changes John and his brother James had already formed a
company in 1864 to purchase property in London and create offices.
Now, in the farm fields of Merton and southern Wimbledon they laid
out new roads – Dorset, Mostyn, Sheridan and so on – close to the
ancient parish church. A new railway line was projected with a station
for Lower Merton giving direct access to London via Merton Abbey.

John Innes saw the potential for a railway across his estate and felt that
the LBSC would want a shorter route from Sutton to the West End
which would probably pass through Merton. For twenty years he was
closely connected with all the various schemes for railways across the
estate.24 The schemes of 1883, 1888, 1890 and 1891 were for a line
connecting Wimbledon with Sutton but none received parliamentary
approval. When the Metropolitan District Railway ran trains to

No interconnection could take place between the differing electrical
systems, and on 9 August 1926 it was officially announced that the
central suburban lines would be changed to standardise the Southern
Railway system. Thus all future electrification was to be 750V dc at
source, 660 V at substation busbars and a nominal 600V across the
trains.
22 to Wimbledon via Haydons Road. The latter service was
well patronised following electrification, winning back many passengers
from the trams operating in Haydons Road and around Tooting. On
Sundays a new service operated between Wimbledon and Victoria via
Tooting, Streatham and Brixton using the South Eastern side at Victoria
station. This started on 3 March but on 7 July 1929 the service began
using Holborn Viaduct. Only two passenger lines remained non-
electrified in the inner suburban area and both were largely within the
Merton borough – the lower loop of the Wimbledon to Tooting via Merton
Abbey and the Wimbledon to Croydon. Both Merton Abbey and Merton
Park had suffered from competition from the Morden Tube Railway
(see p.34), and this side of the TM&W finally closed to passenger traffic
on 2 March 1929. The Merton Abbey line became a long siding after
the junction at Tooting was removed. There were no signals.

The Wimbledon and Croydon service had been worked by pull/push
(motor trains15) since 1919. Plans were prepared for doubling the track
as well as electrifying, but due to financial difficulties it was decided on
26 July 1928 to electrify the existing single line at an estimated cost of
£51,700. No additional substations were required but the estimate was
exceeded by £20,000.23 The last passenger steam train ran on Saturday
5 July 1930 and the electric service began on the following day. The
rolling stock consisted of two-car sets, formerly LBSC stock, suitably
adapted for third rail direct-current operation. LBSC trailer coaches

to support the board’s agreement but Bidder successfully negotiated
with other promoters to complete the railway. The opening was delayed
by the Board of Trade because there were insufficient signals at junctions.
The official opening took place on 22 October 1855, but two days later
a train was derailed near Mitcham due to subsidence of the track, which
lacked fishplates, and the driver was killed. It was the intention to
provide a double track throughout, but the line was opened with a single
track and subsequently two small sections were doubled. The bridges
over the Wandle are built to accommodate two tracks, and the line crosses
the river in Morden Hall Park only a few feet above the normal level of
the river.

Bidder operated the line himself as general manager until July 1856.
Revised agreements were made between the LSW and LBSC on 21
July 1856 and 10 August 1857 whereby both railways accepted equal
participation in the line and the LBSC was given power to raise £15,000
for doubling the track.

When first opened the only stations in the area were at Wimbledon,
Mitcham and Beddington (Lane).12 Morden (Road) was added in 1857.
Two houses adjoining the line at Mitcham were adapted for use as the
station agent’s residence with a booking hall added later. Dating from
about 1800,13 it could claim, until closed in 1988, to be one of the
oldest buildings in use by a railway.

In 1854 the Crystal Palace was transferred from Hyde Park and rebuilt
at Sydenham and re-opened by Queen Victoria. Samuel Laing, chairman
of the new Crystal Palace Railway Company as well as the LBSC(184852),
had taken the lead in arranging the transfer, after the decision had
been made to dismantle it. He arranged for one train per day to work
through from Wimbledon to Crystal Palace (Low level) via West
Croydon and this through working continued until 1928.

A double track was provided between Wimbledon and a new station at
Lower Merton (Merton Park)14 in connection with the opening of the
Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway (TM&W) via Merton Abbey.
on 1 October 1868, but it was not until 1 November 1870 that a platform
was installed for the Croydon line.

Mitcham Junction was also opened on 1 October 1868 in connection

with the Peckham Rye to Sutton line, opened on that day.

In March 1879 the line from Mitcham to Mitcham Junction was doubled
following the laying of double track throughout for the main line service
from London Bridge to Horsham through Mitcham Junction along this
part of the Wimbledon to Croydon line. In 1967 a short section through
Mitcham station reverted to single track.

A joint committee managed the line from 1868 until 1 January 1879 when
the LBSC began negotiations to purchase the LSW holding for £28,000.
The conveyance was completed in August 1879 and the LSW were granted
running powers to Lower Merton for operating the TM&W to Streatham
via Merton Abbey.

During the early years, trains usually consisted of six four-wheeled
carriages with open thirds. From 1919 ‘motor trains’15 operated with
Stroudley tank engines and two coaches containing side corridors and
gangwayed together. The latter allowed the guard to walk through the
train and issue and collect tickets. ‘Motor trains’ operated until 5 July
1930, electric trains taking over the following day. Thereafter, on the
Southern (SR), the term ‘motor train’ ceased and such trains were referred
to as ‘push and pull’ sets until the end of steam working.

At Beddington Lane tickets were issued at the signal box, and for the
benefit of passengers joining here or at Morden Road without tickets,
guards walked through the trains and could issue bell punch tickets from
a hand rack. This continued after electrification so that suitable coaching
stock had to be found (see Electrification).

LSW introduced economically priced season tickets favouring the new
areas (up to 17 miles distant), for regular travellers.21 A publicity
department was set up which produced literature such as ‘Homes in the
South West Suburbs’. A new timetable was compiled although it was
Walker’s vision to make timetables unnecessary. He wanted to run a
train service so frequent that trains would depart at regular minutes
past each hour at every station.

The line from Waterloo to Kingston and beyond via Raynes Park was
electrified on 30 January 1916 and in the same year electrification was
extended to Hampton Court and Claygate which provided twelve trains
every hour between Wimbledon and Waterloo. The new services were
a great success and the number of suburban passengers almost doubled
between the beginning and end of World War I. To save the cost of
building new rolling stock electric coaches were converted from loco-
hauled bogie stock. On the LSW these were made up into three-car sets
but with no second class seats. The war held up electrification on the
LBSC which had been started in 1909. The LSW were not enthusiastic
about the jointly operated Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon services
and on 1 January 1917 these were totally withdrawn as a wartime
economy.

From 1 January 1923 fourteen railway companies were merged to form
the Southern Railway Company. The main constituents were the LSW,
LBSC, LC&D and the SE, each pursuing a different policy on
electrification. The LSW favoured using a third rail carrying 600V dc,
the LBSC were going ahead with overhead conductor wires supplying
6,600V ac whilst the SE&C was proposing to adopt a third and fourth
rail system with 3,000V dc.

With the assistance of credit from the Government through the Trade
Facilities Act of 1921 the LBSC started work on a further extension of
overhead traction from West Croydon to Sutton, which was
commissioned on 1 April 1925, and on the South Western side, the
Epsom line from Raynes Park was electrified as far as Dorking on 9
July 1925 with a third rail. (The public opening was on 12 July when
Motspur Park station was opened).

The Waterloo services via East Putney were electrified on 25 October
1915 and ran until 4 May 1941. Since then this line has been used only
for empty stock trains, excursions and diversions due to engineering
works, etc.

Between 1860 and 1890 the LSW & LBSC suburban network of steam
railways had been established with the services largely operated by 44-
2 tank engines hauling six-wheeled coaches. As the century closed,
Americans began investing in railways, especially those operating city
services suitable for electrification. A financier Charles Yerkes (18371905),
who had made a fortune with tramways and elevated railways in
Chicago, arrived in London and with the support of other American
backers began purchasing various railways and tram companies. By
March 1901 he had effective control of the District Railway and included
it in his new group – the Underground Electric Railways of London
Limited. He immediately laid plans before Parliament for electrifying
the District lines. The traction supply came from a power station built
at Lots Road, Chelsea, specifically to supply Yerkes’s London’s
Underground trains.

Meanwhile the mainline companies began to suffer competition from
the trams, when in 1903, the L.C.C. introduced them through Balham
to Tooting and elsewhere. In 1907 the London United Tramways began
services between Kingston, Raynes Park, Wimbledon, Merton and
Tooting.

Further competition came from motor buses when the London General
Omnibus Company’s services were extended into the suburbs from
1 January 1912 with a depot at Putney, and Merton depot opened
November 1913. Although the LSW had had experience of electrification
on their Waterloo and City underground service since 8 August 1898
and the LBSC on their South London line from 1 December 1909, it
was not until Herbert Walker took over as General Manager of the
LSW on 1 January 1912 that the declining suburban traffic problem
was tackled in earnest. He soon decided that it was necessary not only
to electrify the inner suburban network but also to assist the movement
of population to a new outer suburban area. From 1 January 1914 the

Single line train working

‘One train’ working or ‘one engine in steam’ meant that only one train
could be admitted to a single line section. A staff was provided which
was carried by the train crew and was their authority to be in that section
of the track. A second train in the same direction was not possible as
the staff was then at the other end of the section. An improvement to
this was the ‘Train Staff and Ticket’ method which enabled two trains
to follow in the same direction without waiting for the return of the staff
by a train in the reverse direction. The driver of the first train was
shown the staff and given a specially printed Ticket bearing the words
“You are authorised, after seeing the Train Staff for the section to proceed
to ——— and the Train Staff will follow.” At the end of the section the
ticket was surrendered for cancellation and secured in a box.

In 1892 an electrical train staff system devised by Webb and Thompson
was introduced by the LBSC.

Wimbledon to Epsom (1859)

As early as 1842 Joseph Locke surveyed two possible routes from
London to Epsom but recommended a single line branching off from
the LSW main line between Wimbledon and Malden. This point was
chosen so that the new line could serve Wimbledon and Merton as well
as Epsom and Ewell. The local traffic was insufficient to operate a
separate suburban service but too much to be adequately served by
long distance stopping trains.

The Epsom Bill came before Parliament in 1844 but was rejected in
favour of an extension of the L&C to Epsom (7 Vic. 29 July 1844).
Two further schemes were submitted by the LSW in 1845 and 1846 but
these were again rejected.

It was not until 1857 that a Wimbledon and Dorking Bill was put forward
by private promoters for a line between Epsom and Leatherhead but
seeking an extension to Wimbledon. The first reaction by the LSW was
to object to the proposals but when they were offered 45% of the gross
receipts in return for operating and maintaining the line, they supported
the scheme and underwrote £30,000 of the authorised capital of £70,000.

Dundonald Road Crossing Box 24/9/73 – Photograph by John Scrace

Junction towards Merton Abbey c. 1928

(Ref. XD.76)

Remains of original station in foreground

Wimbledon Platforms 9&10 LBSC Station 1927
Mitcham Signal Box 8/7/76 – Photograph by John Scrace Material for reconstructing platforms visible in distance on platform 10.
(Ref. XM.109)

The LSW built the WM&WM but allowed the District line running powers
to Wimbledon from their existing line at Putney Bridge, whilst retaining
the LSW’s right of running to Kensington over the District Railway. All
running expenses on the new line were to be paid by the LSW and through
fares were to be apportioned between the LSW and the District. The
successors to each company continued to operate on the same basis.
Building work was started in April 1887 by the contractors Lucas and
Aird and the most notable engineering work was the bridge over the Thames
at Putney which took two years to construct. The line opened on 3 June
1889 for District line trains only, and when the LSW began services on 1
July they ran to Waterloo via Putney Junction, and not Fulham or
Kensington. The LSW operated 21 weekday trains each way.

The District Railway operated four-wheeled coaches, some of which were
still in use in 1900. Plans for electrifying the line were made in 1902 (2
Edw. 7. Pt. 3) and this involved laying third and fourth rails, as conductors,
over the LSW track from Putney Bridge to Wimbledon. District line
electrified services commenced on 27 August 1905 through to Wimbledon
but were often delayed thereafter by the presence of LSW steam trains
operating the Waterloo services.

In 1911 the LSW proposed additional tracks from Wimbledon to East
Putney to segregate District trains from their own services into Waterloo.
This was the Metropolitan and District Bill and incorporated a renewal
of LSW running powers into High Street or South Kensington. The Act
was passed on 17 August 1912 but the problem of integrating the LSW
third rail only electrification with the Underground’s fourth rail negative
return had been resolved20 and the duplication of tracks found unnecessary.

The LSW went ahead with its suburban electrification which included
the Wimbledon to Waterloo via East Putney. Meanwhile World War I
intervened to shatter the LSW’s dream of running trains to the West End
and no LSW train has ever crossed its own river bridge at Putney, other
than departmental trains for repairing the track, etc.

The Bill received Parliamentary approval on 27 July 1857. Thomas
Brassey built the double tracked line but encountered delays caused by
weather, men and shortage of materials, and it was not until 4 April
1859 that the line opened to Epsom with stations at Worcester Park16
and Ewell. At the Wimbledon end, the double track used the main line
for a mile and ran into platforms which, at that time, were on the west
side of Wimbledon Bridge.

In the spring of 1860, the LSW decided to purchase the Wimbledon and
Dorking Company (W&D) and offered £40,000 in shares plus £43,000
cash towards outstanding debts. The offer was rejected and the W&D
obtained powers to increase their capital to ease their cash problems.
This meant that the LSW would have reduced voting power and in
August 1860 they promptly sought an injunction to delay the issue.
The W&D then agreed that the new issue would have no voting rights,
and talks between the two companies ended with the LSW agreeing to
subscribe its allocation of the new shares plus £48,000 cash towards
debts. The LSW then acquired the railway by offering LSW 4½%
preferential stock to W&D shareholders.

Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway (1868)

In 1860 the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&D) obtained
authority for a line from Beckenham via Herne Hill, Blackfriars Bridge
to Ludgate Hill. All railways desired access to the City and the LC&D
was the first of the railways serving towns south of the Thames to
achieve this. At that time the LSW arranged for all its main line trains
into Waterloo to have omnibuses in attendance to convey passengers to
the City and to avoid this they approached the LC&D suggesting two
connections with their proposed line. The first was a line from Clapham
Junction and the second from Wimbledon via Merton and Tooting. Both
routes merged at Loughborough Junction. The LC&D welcomed the
connections and the financial support for constructing the Ludgate Hill
line (£316,000 for permanent LSW running powers). In 1863 the LBSC
obtained an Act to link Streatham with Sutton as well as a line from
Streatham to Tooting. On 29 July 1864 the Tooting, Merton and
Wimbledon Railway Act was passed (27 and 28 Vic. cap. 325), promoted
as an independent company. It involved two lines from Wimbledon to

Tooting – one from the W&C at Lower Merton and one from Wimbledon
station via Hayden’s Lane.
Tooting – one from the W&C at Lower Merton and one from Wimbledon
station via Hayden’s Lane. From Tooting a line joined the LBSC at
Streatham. Engineering work commenced early in 1865, the engineer
being W. Jacomb with Aird and Son as contractors. The LSW and
LBSC agreed to finance the scheme jointly and a further Act was obtained
on 5 July 1865 (28 and 29 Vic. cap. 273) giving the two companies
power to acquire and manage the line jointly. This Act also authorised
the essential mile and a half of line from Streatham to Knights Hill
(Tulse Hill) which would enable the LSW to reach their coveted second
access to Ludgate Hill. By May 1867 this connection had still not been
completed by the LBSC which caused the LSW some annoyance. The
TM&W finally opened on 1 October 1868 with LBSC trains on the
Merton Abbey loop and on the same day they began services on the
Peckham Rye to Sutton via Mitcham Junction route. It was not until
1 January 1869 that the other loop line via Hayden’s Lane was opened.
The LSW operated trains from Wimbledon to Ludgate Hill (in connection
with the Kingston line – see p.22) and the LBSC to London Bridge and
both companies served either side of the loop. This enabled trains to
run forward at Wimbledon on to the alternate loop without reversing
engines and avoiding train crew lay over time. Because of its shape on
a map the loop became known as ‘the Pear'(see map on p.21). The
route was double tracked throughout which meant doubling the portion
on the W&C from Wimbledon to Lower Merton. The doubling meant
a change in alignment between Kingswood Road and Wimbledon Station.
The LBSC platform had been rebuilt east of Wimbledon Bridge,18
allowing a shorter curve for the double track closer to Wimbledon station.
The curve of the previous single line may be traced on early O.S. maps
and follows the public footpath to Dundonald Road.

In 1878 the LBSC acquired the sole rights in the railway but it remained
in joint management until the amalgamation of railways in 1923.

The LSW always experienced operating difficulties on their route where
the trains had to be accommodated on LBSC metals between Streatham
Junction and Tulse Hill and the LC&D lines between Tulse Hill and
Ludgate Hill. The LSW operated thirteen trains a day in each direction,
of which two ran through to Kingston, and the LBSC operated fifteen
trains on their routes but there was no Sunday service. The LBSC also

10 August 1882 and the existing abutments indicate that provision was
made for a fifth track on the main line. A new up platform and booking
office was necessary at Raynes Park on the north side and all changes were
effected on Sunday 16 March 1884 when the up Epsom trains called at the
new platform at Raynes Park and used the up main track through
Wimbledon. Finally, on Sunday 30 March, the quadrupling of the main
line to Hampton Court Junction was completed and the layout became up
local, up through, down through, down local, and this has remained so,
west of Gap Road bridge.

Wimbledon, Merton and West Metropolitan (1889)

Following the passing of the Kingston & London Railway (K&L) Bill on
22 August 1881 (44 and 45 Vic. cap. 212), the Common Conservators as
well as many Wimbledon residents were displeased for various reasons.
Some thought that Wimbledon village never would have an adequate railway
and decided to sponsor their own Bill assisted by Col. A.L. Cole. This was
an ambitious scheme from Wimbledon (LSW) northwards, but east of the
Common and Hill towards Wandsworth where it would join the proposed
K&L line. The promoters also sought running powers to South Kensington
and High Street (District), to Addison Road Kensington (West London
Extension), to Leatherhead via Epsom (LSW), to Surbiton (LSW), to
Streatham (TM&W), and to Croydon (W&C).

After a mauling in both Houses of Parliament, the WM&WM Bill received
Royal Assent on 18 August 1882. No running powers were allowed over
the LSW except over a spur towards the TM&W and no running powers to
Streatham or Croydon. Conversely the LSW were refused running powers
over the WM&WM. The route was also changed but still made a connection
with the K&L. It suffered therefore from the delay in the construction of
that line. Frustration built up as each year passed until in the Autumn of
1885 the promoters of WM&WM sought parliamentary powers to force
the LSW and the District line to build the K&L. In November, the LSW
offered the promoters £10,500 and asked to take over their powers. This
was accepted after safeguarding their contractors, Lucas and Aird; obtaining
recompense for their Parliamentary deposit and other stipulations.
Arrangements were confirmed by the LSW Act of 25 June 1886 which
allowed the abandonment of most of the K&L line and for a diversion of
the WM&WM through Wimbledon to a terminus west of the station.

Kingston to Wimbledon (1869)

LSW main line changes

At the request of Richard Garth, lord of the manor of Morden, a station
was provided in west Wimbledon, although within the parish of Merton.
This was opened on 30 October 1871 and called ‘Raynes Park’ because
both the main line and the Epsom branch crossed the farming lands of
West Barnes Park once owned by Edward Rayne (d. 1847). The platform
and station buildings were only provided on the south side of the main
line with one face of the platform serving the Epsom line and the other
the Kingston services.

On 22 August 1881 an authorising Act was secured to allow the LSW
main line to be quadrupled as far as Surbiton, but between Wimbledon
and Malden this merely meant a re-arrangement of the existing four
tracks (up main, down main, up local and down local). Platform changes
were necessary at Wimbledon and the station was rebuilt on the east
side of Wimbledon Bridge, and opened on 21 November 1881. From
Sunday 25 March 1883 the up Kingston trains were diverted by means
of a new single line from the Kingston branch at Malden and arrived at
Wimbledon on the up main line. Two new tracks were laid from Clapham
Junction to Wimbledon, entering the borough on a widened bridge over
the river Wandle and coming into use on 2 March 1884. At the same
time a road overbridge replaced the level crossing at Merton Road (now
Durnsford Road). At Raynes Park other major changes had to be made.
In order to bring the Epsom up track on to the north side of the main
line a wide diversion had to be made with a ‘dive under’ beneath the
main line. Authority for the new line and ‘dive under’ was obtained on

later ran ‘push and pull’ trains 15 between Streatham and Wimbledon.

By 1910 both services were suffering from competition by electrified
tramways and as a wartime economy to save fuel supplies, passenger
services on both lines were withdrawn on 1 January 1917. It was not
until 27 August 1923 that services were restored as part of a deal with
the Underground Railway over the Wimbledon to Sutton line (see page
33). In October 1923 two-coach ‘push and pull’ working was introduced
serving Streatham or Tulse Hill via both Haydons Road and Merton
Park with 20 through services to London Bridge and four to Ludgate
Hill.19

In 1926 the Underground extension to Morden was opened offering a
better service to London, which meant that Colliers Wood took away
the passengers which had used Merton Abbey and South Wimbledon
took those from Merton Park. This side of the loop was therefore closed
to passenger traffic on 2 March 1929.

The junction at Tooting was severed on 10 March 1934.

Peckham Rye to Sutton Railway (1868)

The LBSC obtained powers in 1863 to construct a line from New Cross
to Sutton intersecting the Wimbledon and Croydon line near Mitcham
Common. The original intention was for the new line to pass over at
right angles with a station at the bridge near the Croydon Road, but
local opposition forced the line to skirt the north of Mitcham Common
thus meeting the Wimbledon line obliquely. A junction was therefore
formed and the station placed further from the Common. Amended
powers were successfully sought in 1864 to run from Peckham Rye
instead of New Cross thus forming the main line from London Bridge
to Sutton and Horsham. The changes to the line at Mitcham Junction
resulted in tight curves in and out for the main line but left a straight
track on the less important W&C route.

The new line came into operation on 1 October 1868, the same day as
the Streatham to Wimbledon services.

To Putney & Wimbledon To To Putney & Wimbledon To
Victoria

Earls Court Park Waterloo

SIR

WM&WM

1803

M-E

1889

THE RAILWAYS
OF MERTON
(for abbreviations see page 2)
1

1926
Tooting To
Broadway Peckham
Rye

Haydens Lane

Scale:
02

Wimbledon

TM&W Streatham

‘The Pear’

1868 Common

Colliers Tooting

Wood

South Wimbledon

Junction

To
East Croydon

Merton & Brighton

Lower

Abbey

Merton

Morden

Wimbledon

Road

SIR

Raynes Park

To Kingston

K&L

Chase

M-E

1803

&Southampton 1869

W&S

1926 W&C

1868

1929

1855

South

Morden

Merton
W&D 1859 Mitcham

Motspur

Morden
South

W&S

Mitcham

Junction

W&C

Park

1930

1855

SIR

To St Helier

1804

Beddington

Chessington North To

To To Lane

& South Sutton

Epsom To Carshalton Sutton To Croydon